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Denarius - Caligula and Augustus
| Issuer | Roman Empire (27 BC - 395 AD) |
|---|---|
| Year | 37-38 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Technique | Hammered |
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| Obverse description | Bare head of Caligula (Gaius Caesar Germanicus) facing right, rendered in a naturalistic portrait style with curled hair. The bust is draped at the truncation. A circular Latin legend surrounds the effigy, reading from the upper right around the field. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Radiate head of the deified Augustus facing right, depicted with a radiate crown symbolising his divine status. Two six-pointed stars are positioned symmetrically in the left and right fields flanking the portrait, emphasising the consecratory character of the type. The reverse field is plain with no legend, the imagery alone conveying the apotheosis of Augustus. The coin is struck within a beaded border. |
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Struck in the first year of Caligula's reign, this denarius pairs the new emperor with his deified predecessor as a deliberate legitimizing move. Caligula had no direct blood claim through Augustus — his lineage ran through Germanicus and Agrippina the Elder — so invoking Augustus on coinage served a pointed dynastic argument. Tiberius, notably, had been far more restrained in his use of Augustan imagery for self-promotion.
RIC I 6 is among the earlier issues of the reign, before the illness of late 37 AD that ancient sources credit with transforming Caligula's conduct entirely.